Research

YouOS was a web desktop and web integrated development environment, developed by WebShaka until June 2008.

The Online Operating System is a fully multi-lingual and free to use web desktop written in JavaScript using Ajax. It is a windows-based desktop environment with open source applications and system utilities developed upon the reBOX web application framework by iCUBE Network Solutions, an Austrian company located in Vienna.

xOS Webtop is an open source webtop OS (Web Desktop) making the cloud computing experience easy for everyone and available almost anywhere. It is mainly written in HTML5, PHP, and JavaScript. xOS includes a Desktop or Mobile environment with a number of features, applications, and system utilities being added all the time. It is accessible on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS (Apple), and Android (operating system) through the web browser.

Nivio is a global Cloud Computing innovator with the unique vision of removing computing constraints and providing ubiquitous access to Windows. The company was selected as a World Economic Forum - Technology Pioneer in 2009.

Glide OS is a Flash-based web desktop developed by Transmedia. It is notable for operating on both desktop operating systems, like windows and mobile operating systems. Glide OS is compatible with a variety of web browsers, including Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome.

G.ho.st (usually pronounced ghost) was the trading name of Ghost Inc. and the service name and URL of the company's hosted computer operating system or WebOS service. Its name is an acronym of Global Hosted Operating SysTem. The old URL G.ho.st is a domain hack using the São Tomé and Príncipe .st country extension and more recently Ghost has moved to http://Ghost.cc. As of April 2010 Ghost has closed its service due to competition and lack of funding.

eyeOS is an open source web desktop following the cloud computing concept that seeks to enable collaboration and communication among users. It is mainly written in PHP, XML, and JavaScript. It acts as a platform for web applications written using the eyeOS Toolkit. It includes a Desktop environment with 67 applications and system utilities. It is accessible by portable devices via its mobile front end.

Desktoptwo was a free Webtop (whose URL was desktoptwo.com and which is now parked domain) developed by Sapotek (it's also been called a WebOS although Sapotek states on its website that the term is premature and presumptuous) that mimics the look, feel and functionality of the desktop environment of an operating system. The software only reached beta stage. It had a Spanish version called Computadora.de. Desktoptwo was web-based and required Adobe Flash Player to operate. The web applications' found on Desktoptwo were built on PHP in the back end. Features included drag-and-drop functionality. Sapotek had liberated all the web applications found on Desktoptwo through Sapodesk on an AGPL license.

CloudMe (formerly icloud) is an online computer, like an operating system running in the cloud with an AJAX-based remote web desktop. The CloudMe service is owned and developed by Xcerion, a Swedish company. It is accessible from both desktop operating systems and mobile operating systems using WebDAV. CloudMe is compatible with a variety of web browsers like Internet Explorer, Firefox and Google Chrome. In June 2010 a mobile version for iPhone and Android web browsers was released, expanding mobile access beyond WebDAV. The desktop and its applications are translated by its users to 30 languages.

Cloud computing is the delivery of computing as a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices as a utility (like the electricity grid) over a network (typically the Internet).